History

History - Samaritans of Manchester & Salford

The Manchester branch of the Samaritans was set up by a local Anglican clergyman, Rev. Basil Higginson who was impressed by the work Chad Varah was doing in London with the suicidal and despairing. He recruited a small band of helpers, mainly from local churches, soon to be supplemented by other religious and non- religious people. Early calls were taken at Gaddum House, a centre for local charitable works , though at night volunteers had to climb to the first floor of a dry cleaner’s shop in John Dalton Street for their overnight stint.

With the help of church authorities the first permanent premises were established at St Paul’s Church, New Cross at the start of the Oldham Road. One aisle and one transept were partitioned off, making room for three small interview rooms along the aisle and a duty room cum office in the transept. The church was a local landmark as it sported a large hoarding on the tower publicising the telephone number and offering help to desperate people. One of the most important members of the branch at this time was Samantha the cat, whose nocturnal activities kept the shift awake and the office free of mice. Eventually the premises became very run-down until eventually the toilet fell through the floor.

The move to purpose-built premises on Livesey Street was a treat for volunteers but callers found it rather like a health centre in design. It was further from the city centre and only had a ten year life as it was a prefabricated building. This meant that a few years later the branch was on the move again, this time to Oldham Street where the building was shared with an agency working with alcoholics who had the top floor. The branch was honoured to have a visit from the then Royal Patron, Her royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, who, almost ten years later, returned to open the present centre on Oxford Street.

A move from Oldham Street was decided upon at the time when the area was becoming more difficult to negotiate, especially at night, before the Northern Quarter regained its fashionable character. Premises were found by a talented fundraiser who raised hundreds of thousands of pounds almost single-handed. The present centre is situated in an ideal area, on the edge of several Universities and near both the city centre and local transport links

Over the 44 years the branch has been working the number of contacts has risen steadily. Fewer people visit the centre but the nature of the support offered continues.